


Jessica Jones & Luke Cage: Measuring Up

by d0d0bird



Series: Marvel: Tales to Tantalize! [29]
Category: Jessica Jones (TV), Power Man and Iron Fist (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, BAMF Colleen Wing, BAMF Danny Rand, BAMF Luke Cage, BAMF Misty Knight, Beating, Bisexual Jessica Jones, Blood, Burns, Embarrassed Jessica Jones, Embarrassment, F/M, Fire, Gen, Heartbreak, Humiliation, Humor, Hurt Jessica Jones, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Insecure Jessica Jones, Jealous Jessica Jones, Jessica Jones Gets a Hug, Jessica Jones Is a Mess, Jessica Jones Needs a Hug, Jessica Jones-centric, Lovers to Friends, Luke Cage is a good bro, Messy, Only bad guys die, POV Jessica Jones, Pantsing, Partial Nudity, Peter Parker cameo - Freeform, Post-Break Up, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Shame, Situational Humiliation, Stripping, Suspension, Teasing, burned alive, wedgie, wedgies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23500993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d0d0bird/pseuds/d0d0bird
Summary: It’s been years since Jessica Jones and Luke Cage have spoken. When Luke comes to Jessica for help finding an old adversary, the two team up in an investigation that takes them on a journey through their past relationship.Jessica is feeling insecure about her accomplishments in comparison to her ex-boyfriend. Things only get worse when Jessica starts to make embarrassing mistakes on the case...
Relationships: Luke Cage/Jessica Jones
Series: Marvel: Tales to Tantalize! [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1507763
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Jessica Jones & Luke Cage: Measuring Up

“Shit,” muttered Jessica, checking her phone.

“What?” asked Peter.

The two were sitting on Jessica’s couch. Peter was reading a biology textbook while Jessica was scrolling through her phone. Peter’s laptop sat on the coffee table beside them, open to a blank document.

“Sorry Peter,” sighed Jessica, “Bobbi has a mission. She can’t make it.”

“Shoot,” cursed Peter.

Bobbi Morse had offered to help Peter with his genetics paper for class. He was an undergrad in biology, which would have been a breeze for him if half his studying time didn’t have to be sacrificed for web slinging heroics. Bobbi had completed her doctorate in biology, so she had learned most of that stuff already. As such, she had offered to help.

“Is it alright with you if I stick around until I finish it anyway?”

“Sure,” shrugged Jessica.

There was a knock at the door. The two of them looked at each other.

“Were you expecting someone?” asked Peter.

“No,” said Jessica, getting up and slowly approaching the door.

She looked through the peephole. These days they couldn’t be too careful.

“Holy shit,” whispered Jessica.

“What?” asked Peter.

“Carl!?” exclaimed Jessica in shock as she opened the door.

On the other side of the door stood a tall, broad shouldered, and extremely muscular man with a serious look on his face. When his eyes met Jessica’s though, the serious look became a warmer one.

“It’s Luke now,” he said, “Luke Cage.”

“You know Luke Cage!?” cried Peter from the couch.

Luke Cage was not an unfamiliar name to Jessica. He ran a startup called Heroes for Hire out of an office in Harlem, which rented out vigilantes and supers for various tasks. While Jessica had heard the name Luke Cage, she had never seen his face. She had no idea that he and Carl Lucas were the same person.

“Yeah,” stammered Jessica to Peter, still in disbelief, “We used to date.”

“You _dated_ Luke Cage!?!” cried Peter even louder.

“I didn’t know you had a little brother,” said Luke.

“I don’t-” said Jessica, “He’s not my brother.”

“Huh,” mused Luke, “He doesn’t seem like your type.”

“What? No!” protested Jessica, “GOD no. No, we are NOT dating. No.”

“Thanks,” muttered Peter defeatedly.

“Oh shut up,” said Jessica, “You know what I mean.”

“How have you been?” asked Luke.

“Wait, no,” dismissed Jessica, “What are you doing here? How did you get out?”

“Out of where?” asked Peter.

“I’d rather not talk about it here,” said Luke, “Walk with me?”

“What are you doing here?” repeated Jessica.

“I want to hire you, Jessica,” said Luke, “I need help finding Stryker.”

“Shit,” realized Jessica, “Yeah, sure, yeah.”

“Who’s Stryker?” asked Peter.

“Just…” began Jessica, irritated with Peter’s interruptions, “Just stay here and do your homework, okay?”

Jessica grabbed her jacket and walked out the door with Luke.

“Homework?” he smiled, “You sure he isn’t your little brother?”

“Shut up.”

***

**Several years ago…**

The door creaked as Jessica walked into the bar. The bouncer took a step in her direction, looking down at her expectedly. When she continued walking he cut her off.

“I.D.?” he demanded.

“Seriously?” scoffed Jessica.

“Yes,” said the bouncer.

“I don’t have it on me,” she said, “Just let me in? It’s been a rough fucking night.”

“It’s alright Sonny,” said the bartender, “You can let her in.”

The bouncer looked back at the bartender and nodded. Jessica could see why. The bar was completely empty save for the three of them. Even for a nameless dive bar, the place was small and dumpy. She had no idea how they managed to land such a handsome bartender.

“Thanks,” grunted Jessica, “You might have just saved your buddy a black eye.”

Sonny snorted irritably.

“Whiskey, neat,” said Jessica as she grabbed a seat at the bar.

The bartender obliged, returning with a small glass tumbler with a few shots of whiskey in it. Jessica sighed with relief. It had been a rough day. Not only had the job ended in a fist fight and dealing with the police, but the client had completely stiffed her on the bill. Not that there was much she could do about it. She downed the drink. It was smooth.

“Oh,” said Jessica, almost in disgust, “No, no. Rail is fine.”

“Don’t worry about it,” dismissed the bartender, “It’s on the house.”

Jessica eyed the man suspiciously.

“You hitting on me?” she asked.

“Yes,” he chuckled, “but also you’re my only customer tonight. It’s in my best interest you stay happy.”

“Your boss gonna be okay with that?”

“I am my boss.”

“Huh,” said Jessica, looking around, “So you manage this shithole?”

“Alright,” he smiled, “Message received. You want another?”

“Yes.”

The bartender obliged again. Jessica finished that drink as well and looked around the bar. It was a weeknight, but still there was no way this meager patronage would be sustainable. It looked like they had minimal staff though. By the third drink Jessica was growing bored.

“What’s your name?” she asked the bartender.

“Carl Lucas,” he said, “You?”

“Jessica Jones,” she said.

“Any reason you don’t carry your I.D. around?” asked Carl, “You’re not a cop, are you?”

“Fuck no,” scoffed Jessica, “It’s just when you’re a P.I. it doesn’t necessarily work to your advantage to have your identification on you while on the job.”

“P.I.? Seriously?”

“You wanna bet?” she asked curtly.

“No, I believe you,” he said, “Just never met one before. Can I ask if the pay is any good?”

“Why?” she asked, “You looking for new work?”

“Not in that field,” said Carl, “but I’d like to run a business that isn’t a bar one day, yeah.”

“Ooh,” she mocked, “An entrepreneur.”

“Look who’s talking,” he teased back, “Unless you’re part of a P.I. _firm_ or something.”

“No,” she said, “I... Well, I work out of my apartment. Let’s put it that way.”

“That’s cool.”

“It’s really not.”

“Fair enough.”

Jessica found herself smiling. She wasn’t used to people having back and forths with her like that. Normally all it took was one of her snarky comments for someone to shut up. This guy was matching her.

“Another,” said Jessica, siding her glass back.

“If you like,” he said, “but just so you know, I never go home with someone whose had much more than that.”

Jessica found herself smiling again.

“Alright Carl,” she said, “You don’t seem too busy. What do you say one more and we go back to your place?” 

***

**Today...**

Jessica and Luke walked down the street. Jessica looked at the buildings around them as they did. She hadn’t been to Harlem in some time. Back when she dated Luke they had both lived in Hell’s Kitchen. She looked at Luke, wondering what had happened to him in the years they’d been apart.

“So,” said Jessica, “You going to tell me how you managed to get out? And how you got into the professional hero business?”

Luke looked over at her, a slight look of displeasure on his face. It didn’t seem to be a topic he wanted to talk about. Jessica wasn’t about to let it go though, not if he was going to ask for help finding Stryker.

“They put me away in Seagate,” said Luke, “You heard of it?”

“Vaguely,” said Jessica, “That the place in Georgia?”

“Yup,” said Luke, “They promised me time off for good behavior. The catch was that ‘good behavior’ at Seagate meant volunteering for certain… experiments.”

“Oh God.”

“You’re telling me,” said Luke, “The warden wasn’t my biggest fan either.”

“You?” asked Jessica, “What was his problem with you?”

“He was a white prison warden from Georgia, Jessica.”

“Right.”

“Anyway,” continued Luke, “There was a… mishap. Shit went sideways.”

“Like, gamma bomb-levels of sideways?”

“Damn near destroyed the whole building.”

“No way,” said Jessica in disbelief, “How come I didn’t hear about this?”

“Guess they didn’t want people knowing about the two dead prison staff and missing prisoner.”

“So that’s how you got out?”

“With a little something for my trouble.”

“So you really are bulletproof?”

“You’ve heard.”

“You’ve made something of a name for yourself,” shrugged Jessica, “Of course I didn’t know it was you. I would’ve reached out, Carl.”

“It’s Luke now.”

“Right, sorry. Luke.”

“Don’t worry about it. Here we are.”

Jessica stopped as Luke turned and gestured to the building beside them. They walked in through the doors and into the lobby. A skinny, curly haired woman in glasses sat at the reception desk. She perked up and gave Luke a wave.

“Morning, Luke!” she smiled.

“Morning Jennie,” he smiled back, “How’s the crossword today?”

“A breeze,” she said, holding up the filled out page of the paper.

Luke and Jessica stepped into the elevator at the end of the lobby and rode it up.

“She’s always doing crosswords,” explained Luke once they were in.

“I gathered,” said Jessica dryly, “So are you going to tell me what’s going on with Stryker?”

“Yeah,” he said, “Let me just show you around and introduce you first.”

“Great.”

Jessica hated these kinds of formalities.

The elevator dinged as they walked onto the floor. Jessica looked around in awe. The office space was considerably bigger than she thought it would be. The main central area was filled with natural light from the huge windows on the far and right hand walls. Along the left wall were numerous offices, each with sharp-looking glass walls branded with the black and yellow “Heroes for Hire” logo.

“We’re still trying to get the place in working shape,” said Luke, “but I like to think we’re making progress.”

“You’re kidding right?”

Luke smirked. He was. He knew exactly how impressive this looked.

“The kitchen’s around the corner here to the left and the conference room is behind that,” explained Luke, gesturing in that direction.

“Hello!” said a cheery voice.

A skinny man in a green and yellow tracksuit approached them. Jessica raised her eyebrows at the outfit choice, but shook his hand when he offered it.

“You’re Jessica Jones?”

“That’s me.”

“Hi,” he said, “I’m Danny Rand.”

“Rand?” said Jessica, “As in, Rand Corporation?”

“The same.”

 _So that’s how they were able to afford this place,_ concluded Jessica.

The Rand family boasted an enormous fortune through the many enterprises of the Rand Corporation.

“It’s an honor to meet you,” added Danny.

“An honor?” scoffed Jessica.

“He’s come a long way,” said Luke, “I only recently got him to stop introducing himself as ‘The Immortal Iron Fist.’”

“In my defense,” said Danny, “I _am_ The Immortal Iron Fist.”

“It’s still weird when you introduce yourself that way, man.”

“Iron Fist?” asked Jessica.

Danny assumed a wide stance, took a deep breath, held out his right fist, and made some sort of hand sign with his left. Within a few seconds the fist began to glow and almost golden color.

“Look at you,” said Jessica plainly, “Where’d you get that?”

“My mother was from the ancient Chinese city of K’un-Lun,” he said, “I didn’t know her most of my life, but when I was 12, my father and step mother took me to-”

“Cliffnotes version, Danny,” interrupted Luke.

“I can draw on a special kind of chi,” said Danny.

“Cool.”

“He’s also our HR guy,” explained Luke, “If you have questions about your payment, go to him.”

“Luke, you don’t have to-”

“I told you,” said Luke, “I’m hiring you for this.”

Jessica nodded in resignation. She wasn’t sure if it was guilt or pride that was compelling her to oppose that offer, but either way it wasn’t worth arguing over.

“Is that a sword?” asked Jessica, walking toward a mounted katana in one of the offices.

“I wouldn’t touch that,” said Luke.

“What, is it cursed or something?”

Luke raised his eyebrows.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” said another voice.

Jessica turned and saw a muscular woman in a white jacket.

“So you’re Jessica Jones,” she said, “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“And you are…?”

Jessica did not appreciate that Luke had been talking about her without reaching out to her.

“The name’s Colleen Wing,” she said, shaking Jessica’s hand, “VP of Finance.”

“Who also happens to have a cursed sword,” added Jessica.

“ _Tsuru_ is a Muramasa blade forged centuries ago by a violent and treacherous swordsmith,” explained Colleen, “filling the blade with a demonic and bloodthirsty energy.”

“Okay,” scoffed Jessica.

“Come on,” said Luke, “Don’t be like that.”

“Sorry,” said Jessica unenthusiastically, “Is there anyone else or can we actually get started now?”

Jessica had had about enough of being reminded of how much more successful Luke had been following their breakup.

“The others are all out,” explained Luke, “You’ll meet them later. Come on, let’s go to the conference room.”

The long table in the conference room ended at a large monitor, which Luke clicked on and opened a slideshow to catch Jessica up to speed. It explained the Harlem Syndicate, a criminal organization led by Cornell Stokes. The Heroes for Hire had taken down the organization, leading to Stokes’s arrest and the dissolution of the gang. At least so they thought.

“That’s where Stryker comes in,” explained Luke, “He was a member of the Harlem Syndicate at the time. He was trying to make a play for Stokes’s position. Now most of what’s left of the Syndicate is working with him. The problem is we have no idea how to find them.”

“Do you have any leads at all?” asked Jessica.

“Yes,” said Luke, “Stryker doesn’t have the hard cash that Stokes had, so his men have been dealing more and more. They’re getting sloppy.”

“Any particular hot spots?” asked Jessica.

“A few,” nodded Luke, “but the biggest one is definitely an apartment near the piers. I figure we could stake it out tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Jessica.

***

**Several years ago…**

Jessica looked around the room. It was dark, save for the light coming through the door. She was in Carl’s bed alone.

 _What the hell?_ she thought.

She got out of bed and pulled on her underwear, pants, and camisole. She made her way right out the door. She found herself in the well-lit living area of Carl’s apartment. Across the room was the kitchen, where a single bottle or white wine sat on the counter. Carl stood in the kitchen at the stove, cooking.

“Morning,” he said, not turning around.

Jessica let herself relax a bit. She wasn’t used to sleeping through the night. Usually either her or the other person was gone as soon as the sex was over. This time, she had stayed. She surprised herself.

“When were you going to tell me about your powers?” he asked, pouring the rich-smelling contents of his frying pan onto a plate.

“I thought I made it pretty apparent last night,” said Jessica, approaching the bottle.

“Yeah, well I would have liked to know before you showed me your... kung-fu grip,” smirked Carl, bringing over the plate of mixed eggs and greens along with a plate of toast.

“That scare you?” smiled Jessica back, “Cause I was holding back.”

“I could tell,” grinned Carl, leaning over the counter.

Jessica found herself kissing him. She was glad she did. She liked the way he kissed back. Then he leaned back and returned to the kitchen. Jessica looked down at the food on the counter. It looked and smelled amazing. Plus the wine?

“Okay,” said Jessica, “What’s the catch?”

“Well,” said Carl as he began to clean up his cooking supplies, “if you think all this means there’s a catch, I guess I’m doing a pretty good job.”

“Guess so,” she shrugged, opening the wine bottle and beginning to drink.

“That a power play or you just hate glasses?” asked Carl.

“Both,” said Jessica.

There was a knock at the door. Carl let out a sigh.

“Who’s that?” asked Jessica.

“The catch,” said Carl dryly, walking over to the door.

Carl opened the door to greet two men standing on the other side. One was a sleek-looking man only slightly taller than Jessica. The other man was enormous, towering so high that his head nearly touched the top of the doorway. His shoulders and muscles matched that enormousness.

“Willis,” nodded Carl, “Morning.”

“Morning Carl,” smiled the shorter man, walking in as the large man followed him, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Just a one night stand,” quipped Jessica.

That earned a laugh from the two newcomers.

“Don’t you check your phone anymore?” continued Willis, “We’ve got big news!”

“I heard,” said Carl, folding his arms and looking to the large man, “Empire State Law School, huh?”

“Aren’t you excited for me?” he responded.

“Of course I am, man,” nodded Carl, “Congratulations.”

“Big Ben Donovan! Lawyer extraordinair!” declared Willis, placing a hand up on Ben’s shoulder, “I’m telling you, Carl, the Syndicate takes care of their own.”

“I don’t want any part of it,” said Carl plainly.

“You’d rather keep sinking money into that shitty bar of yours?” sneered Willis.

“Bar’s not shitty,” spoke up Jessica, “It’s just the customers.”

Willis gave her an unsettling look. That quip had not yielded a laugh. 

“Hey,” whispered Carl to Willis and Ben, “You mind if I...?”

He nodded his head over to Jessica.

“Right,” nodded Willis, eyeing Jessica again, “Sorry to interrupt.”

“No problem,” said Carl, “And congratulations again, Ben. That’s great news.”

“Thanks,” said Ben as the two left and Carl closed the door.

“The Syndicate, huh?” mused Jessica, “The Harlem Syndicate, I’m guessing?”

“Not me,” said Carl, “I don’t do that shit.”

“Relax,” said Jessica, “I’m a P.I., not a cop, remember? I don’t care what you do outside of bed.”

“Yeah?” said Carl angrily, “Well maybe you should.”

Jessica raised an eyebrow. 

“Sorry,” realized Carl, calming himself down, “It’s just… The Syndicate isn’t just a street gang. I don’t care what Willis says. They don’t look after anyone.”

“You don’t have to convince me,” said Jessica, “So, you ready for round 2, or…?”

Carl smiled.

***

**Today…**

Jessica adjusted the lens on her camera, zooming in. It was no use. There was no way to see into the alley from this angle. She’d have to rely on catching the suspects’ likenesses while they were going in or out of the building. So far she hadn’t had much luck. She had snapped pictures of a few faces, but none Luke recognized.

Jessica and Luke were perched atop a fire escape down the street from the alley. Jessica had convinced Colleen and Danny not to come along, since it would be harder to stay hidden with so many of them. She hadn’t even wanted Luke to come, but he had insisted.

“So…” he said after almost an hour of staking out, “What have you been up to?”

“What?”

“What have you been doing since I saw you last?” asked Luke. 

“Oh,” said Jessica quietly, “You know, still doing P.I. stuff.”

“Any interesting cases?”

“A few,” shrugged Jessica, “I, uh… Don’t know how much I can say about them.”

“I heard that you’ve been working with Spider-Man,” commented Luke, “That’s gotta be pretty cool. How’d you get involved with that?”

“It’s a long story,*” said Jessica.

*Read it yourself in [Jessica Jones & Spider-Man: Real Heroes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20905046)

“I’ve got time,” said Luke impatiently.

“Not anymore you don’t,” said Jessica, nodding toward the alley.

Luke looked, but he couldn’t see much of anything. Jessica was currently zoomed in on one of the cars outside the alleyway. It wasn’t the people getting out of the car that concerned Jessica, it was the person inside. It was Luke’s old friend Big Ben Donnovan. He was wearing a fine suit. He sat patiently in the back seat of the car. Jessica snapped several pictures and looked closely at the results.

“Did that Big Ben guy ever graduate law school?” asked Jessica.

“Yeah,” said Luke, “Why?”

“Because it looks like he’s putting his degree to use helping the Syndicate,” she said, handing Luke her camera with pictures of his old friend.

“Good,” nodded Luke, checking the photos, “Now let’s go.”

“Hold up,” said Jessica, “Not yet. He’s a lawyer, right? Damning pictures of him will be worth ten times those of the other gang members.”

“What sort of damning pictures?” asked Luke.

“Say, photos that show him willingly ignoring an arms deal being perpetuated by his client?”

“Jessica, how do you plan to get-?”

Jessica stood up and walked over to the edge of the fire escape. The angle would be difficult, but if she leaned all the way out she might be able to get both Ben and his client in a compromising photo. That might be all they’d need. Ben would give up Stryker in a heartbeat if they had that against him. She braced her knees against the railing and leaned forward, placing a hand against the building to balance herself.

“Jessica!” cautioned Luke in a hushed tone, “Careful! You’re going to fall!”

Jessica ignored him. She took her hand off the wall and brought up her camera. She zoomed in. She was going to show Luke what she could do. She didn’t want him to think she had become a washed up failure. After all, that had been what she was when she met him. Solving this case quickly for him would show just how competent she had become. She aimed the camera. For a split second, she thought she saw a man walking with his new automated weapon out in clear shot of Ben. All Jessica needed to do was snap the picture and-

“Shit!” cried Jessica as she fell forward.

She had lost her balance. Taking her hand off the wall had been a mistake. The top half of her body was now leaned over the railing so far that it outweighed her bottom half. She frantically kicked and tried to grab at the fire escape but it was futile. She had fallen forward over the railing and was falling face first toward the ground.

“Jess!” shouted Luke.

Jessica felt the force of the fall jerk along her entire spine and right leg before culminating at her ankle. She opened her eyes. She was still in the air, upside down. Blood was already rushing to her head. She looked up and saw Luke had reached down over the railing and caught her by her right foot, holding her there in the air like that. She felt a lurch in her stomach as she fell another half inch. She looked up and saw that her foot was beginning to slip out of her boot.

“Oh, son of a-” began Jessica, but she didn’t finish before the boot slid off completely and Jessica fell flailing into the dumpster below, landing with a loud metallic thud.

Jessica groaned in disgust as she pushed through the garbage bags and discarded half eaten foods. The dumpster reeked of rotting food and Jessica was sure she would smell the same when she got out. Her whole body ached from the impact of the landing. Jessica felt her right foot, now covered only by a thin grey sock, step in what felt like cold pizza. She nearly retched.

“Hey!” shouted someone from the alleyway, “What was that!?”

 _Oh shit,_ realized Jessica.

She heard the footsteps of half a dozen people running toward her as the cars all sped away, dashing their chances of getting an incriminating picture of Ben. What’s more, now Jessica had to fight her way through armed gang members. She had made such a stupid mistake.

That’s when Jessica heard a loud thud outside the dumpster. She crawled her way up to the lip of the dumpster and saw that Luke had leapt down from the fire escape, leaving a small crater on the ground where he now knelt. He slowly stood and began walking toward the gunmen. They open fired, but Jessica could hear the ricocheting of the shots bouncing off Luke. He really was bulletproof.

Luke knocked the gunmen out one by one, smacking each of them in the side of the head just hard enough to take them down. He stepped on each of the weapons when he was done, rendering them non-functional. He turned to Jessica.

Luke held out his hand. Jessica looked away in embarrassment for a moment, but then took his hand as he helped her climb out of the dumpster and onto the street. She brushed the garbage off of her and looked up at him shamefully.

“Come on,” he said, “Let’s get back to the office.”

It took them the better part of an hour to get back to the office. Jessica tried to ignore the look on Jennie’s face as the perky receptionist wrinkled her nose at Jessica.

“You have a shower or something I could use?” asked Jessica in bashful frustration.

“Yes,” said Luke as they got into the elevator, “and I texted our lawyer to bring you a fresh set of clothes.”

“Your lawyer?”

“You’ll meet her in a second.”

The two got off the elevator and walked onto the floor, where a tall woman with a thin face and short hair stood in an expensive looking black dress. She was holding a large paper bag in her hand. She immediately brought her hand up to her nose as Jessica approached her.

“Nice to meet you too,” sniped Jessica, grabbing the bag out of her hands.

“We’ll speak after you clean up,” said the lawyer, wincing in disgust.

Jessica went into the building’s shower room. She discarded her clothes, turned on the hot water, and began to scrub herself down. She honestly wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get it all out in one shower. She felt like she had garbage in her bloodstream at this point.

Finally, after a thorough scrubbing, she dried off and put her underwear back on. Then she opened the bag from the lawyer to get her fresh set of clothes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” she muttered.

Jessica emerged a few minutes later wearing the new outfit. It was not flattering. She now wore a short, black pair of leggings and a cyan hoodie with a cartoon cat on the front. She still had her old boots on. The whole look still looked ridiculous. She saw Luke smile to himself when she came out.

“Shut up,” she grumbled.

“Don’t complain,” ordered the lawyer, “You no longer smell like a septic tank, so that’s an improvement.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jessica angrily, “Who the hell are you?”

“Jeri Hogarth,” said the woman, extending her arm for a handshake, “Nice to meet you.”

“She’s our legal advisor,” explained Luke, “and representative in court, when it comes to that.”

“Which is all too often,” said Jeri coldly.

“She always this welcoming?” asked Jessica, pointedly ignoring the handshake offer.

“No,” said Jeri, lowering her arm, “You’re lucky. Danny is an old friend of mine and for his sake I tolerate a lot more nonsense from this organization than is reasonable. Normally, I’m considerably less patient than this.” 

“Did you want to go _home_ and change?” Luke asked Jessica.

“No,” she sighed.

Jessica wasn’t about to let herself come across as vain or proud. She already must have come off as a total loser to Luke. She had to show him that she was actually good at this type of work, even if it meant stomaching some indignity.

“What do you know about Ben Donovan?” Luke asked Jeri.

“Slimeball defense attorney,” said Jeri quickly, “He tends to work with a specific clientele. Let’s just say it doesn’t take a court of law to figure out that most of his clients are guilty.”

“And affiliated with the Harlem Syndicate,” said Luke.

“So you know him too,” said Jeri, “I’m going to leave before you discuss your next course of action. We both know that it’s best I don’t know the details. Carry on.”

Jeri strutted out quickly, taking a moment to give Jessica a condescending smile before the door closed on her. Jessica scowled back, even though she knew no one would see it. Then she pulled at the seat of her leggings. They were too small on her and riding up. She wondered if Jeri had done that on purpose.

“What are you doing?” asked Jessica, who noticed that Luke was intensely looking at his phone.

“Looking Ben up online,” he said, “I figure it’s about time we pay him a visit. You sure you don’t want to go home and change? You look uncomfortable.”

Jessica did her best to keep from turning red. Luke must have seen her picking at her wedgie.

“I’m fine,” she insisted indignantly, “Let’s just go.”

***

**Several years ago…**

“Coffee tastes like shit,” coughed Jessica, spitting it back into the mug.

“Hey,” said Carl defensively, “This is my favorite diner.”

Jessica looked at him and furrowed her brow.

“Not because of the coffee,” he chuckled, pushing his own mug aside.

“Well it sure isn’t the toast,” she said, gesturing at her mostly unfinished plate.

Carl got the waitress’s attention.

“Could you bring us out two slices of the apple pie when you get the chance?” he asked.

“Sure, honey,” said the waitress.

“Pie, huh?”

“You’ll love it,” said Carl, “I promise.”

“That’s what you said about that pizza place on Manhattan Ave.”

“No accounting for poor taste,” smiled Carl.

Jessica smiled back. This was nice. The first few dates between the two of them had been mostly sex, though Carl was always one to try to talk about their feelings afterward. It was corny as all hell, but on some level it was why Jessica kept reaching out to him. He cared about how she felt, so she liked spending time with him. It had been a long time since she felt that way about someone.

“Hey!” shouted someone else in the diner, “What the hell!?”

Jessica and Carl both turned around. A few tables down from them a man was making a scene and getting in his waitress’s face. It was the same waitress who had been serving Jessica and Carl.

“I wait half a fucking hour and the soup is cold!?” he shouted, “This is bullshit!”

“I’m sorry, sir-” began the waitress.

“Fuck you,” grumbled the man, “This is coming out of your tip.”

“Kevin, please…” whispered the woman sitting across from the man.

“Shut up,” he pouted.

Jessica stood. Carl widened his eyes in surprise but watched her closely. The waitress had left by now, knowing full well that no good would come from continuing to engage with this man. Jessica walked over to his table, standing beside him.

“What’s your problem?” he asked, folding his arms and not looking at her.

“How’s the soup?” she asked dryly.

“Fuck off,” he dismissed.

“You should try it,” she said.

Jessica grabbed the man’s head and shoved it straight down into the bowl, sending a loud _clang_ across the restaurant as he screamed into the soup and sputtered it all around the table. Everyone was watching quietly in shock. Jessica pulled his head back up, now coated in lukewarm corn chowder.

“How is it?” asked Jessica casually.

The man grabbed at Jessica’s arm to pull it away from his head, but she grew impatient and shoved his face back down and into the bowl for a few more seconds and then pulled him back up.

“Help!” he cried, “This mutant freak is attacking me!”

“Wrong answer,” said Jessica, “The correct response was ‘Delicious! I can’t wait to tip all the cash in my wallet to make up for being such a colossal douchebag.’”

“Please!” he began, but Jessic pushed him down the booth and into the wall before dumping the rest of the soup on him.

“Sorry about that,” said Jessica to the man’s date across the table, “You should probably go.”

The woman nodded frantically and ran off. Jessica caught Carl watching her and smiling. She smiled back. Then she looked back at the man, who was now whimpering and shuddering in the booth as he lay there covered in soup. Jessica roughly grabbed him, pulled his wallet out, tossed the cash onto the counter near the waitress, and shoved him farther into the booth for good measure. Then she returned to her seat.

“Damn,” said Carl.

“Sorry,” offered Jessica quietly.

“No,” insisted Carl, “That was great! I’m all about that.”

“Yeah, well,” smiled Jessica, slightly proud, “If someone didn’t do something, he was just going to keep doing shit like that. Now he’ll think twice about it.”

“Because of you,” said Carl.

“Yeah,” smiled Jessica to herself.

“It must feel good,” he said, “being a hero.”

“Yeah,” nodded Jessica, “It does.”

***

**Today…**

“Good evening,” smiled Ben’s receptionist cheerily, “Do you have an appointment?”

“We do now,” said Jessica firmly.

Luke and Jessica had just walked into Ben Donovan’s law office, which was based out of a smallish complex in South Harlem. There was a single desk with a receptionist in front of a closed door, behind which Donovan was presumably waiting. Jessica was walking directly toward that door.

“Jessica, wait-!” began Luke.

Jessica threw her shoulder into the door to break it down. To her surprise, the door withstood her slam. She hit it again and got the same response. She huffed. She must have looked ridiculous. She slammed it again. Finally, frustrated, she let out a yell as she punched the door as hard as she could.

“Fuck!” she cried, grabbing her fist in pain.

“Mr. Donovan keeps his doors reinforced,” said the receptionist coldly, “Nice hoodie.”

Jessica glared back at her, trying to ignore her throbbing knuckles.The glare didn’t do much. The cat hoodie made Jessica look incredibly unintimidating.

“Sorry,” said Luke quietly, “I should have told you earlier: Ben and I have had a run in since I got my powers. He’s probably been ready for this for a while.”

“So would you like me to put you down for a walk-in?” asked the receptionist.

“...yes,” muttered Jessica meekly.

Jessica and Luke waited in the reception area for some time, Jessica clutching her wrist as the bones in that hand ached. Luke briefly left for a time and returned with a bag of frozen peas from a nearby convenience store. Jessica reluctantly placed it on her hand, offering a small nod as thanks. After a few more minutes, Ben walked out to greet them.

“Carl,” said Ben slowly with a smile, “What a surprise.”

“I’ve told you: it’s Luke now.”

“And... Jessica!” recognized Ben after a moment, “Now that’s someone I wasn’t expecting to see today. Nice hoodie.”

“Can it, asshole!” she snapped.

“Ooh, touchy,” smirked Ben, “I’m guessing that was you knocking on my door earlier.”

Jessica looked away to hide her embarrassment.

“How’s the job?” asked Luke, “Work must be hard now that most of you clients are in jail.”

“Why don’t we sit down at talk,” suggested Ben, gesturing to his office.

So they got up and walked into his personal office. There was a large window, a large desk, and countless files and folders scattered throughout the room. The place was a mess. Once they closed the door behind them, Ben began to speak.

“You have some nerve, Carl,” said Ben irritably, “Messing with my clients and then coming in here all-”

“Shut up,” said Luke firmly, “You knew exactly what you were getting into when you made that agreement with the Syndicate.”

“They paid for your law school,” realized Jessica, “in exchange for you being their attorney without question.”

“Aren’t you quick on the update,” scoffed Ben.

“Where’s Stryker?” demanded Luke.

“I don’t know,” said Ben.

“We saw you earlier tonight,” said Luke, “We know you’re still working with the Syndicate. Stryker is the only one of them left with any real power, so you must be working with him.”

“My clients’ whereabouts is privileged information,” said Ben, “and even if that weren’t the case, I make a point to not know too much about that side of their business. I don’t know where he is.”

“But I bet you know someone who does,” said Luke, “Stryker is going to need muscle if he wants to get back on top. Where’s he getting it?”

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” said Ben, “before I call the police.”

Jessica and Luke looked to one another. Police would only make this situation more difficult. Ben knew that.

“Alright,” said Luke, “but when I’m done with Stryker, I’m coming for you.”

“Bring it on,” smiled Ben as the two walked out.

***

**Several years ago…**

“You ever think about doing it professionally?” asked Carl.

“Doing what professionally?” asked Jessica.

“That hero thing you do.”

Jessica let out a breathy laugh. The two of them were walking down the street. It was late. They were headed in the vague direction of Carl’s apartment, but Jessica didn’t know for sure if she’d be going home with him or not. She knew he’d have her, but she didn’t know about letting herself make a habit of it.

“It’s not exactly a thing you can do professionally,” said Jessica.

“Why not?”

“There’s no one to pay you.”

“What about the people you save? The insurance companies that want to minimize damage?” said Carl, “Sponsorships, something!”

“Relax,” dismissed Jessica, “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is, Jessica,” insisted Carl, stepping in front of her and halting their walk, “You’re good at it. _Really_ good at it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you got these powers.”

“Yeah, well you don’t know how I got them.*”

*But those who read [Jessica Jones & Spider-Man: Crossed Your Path](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20910803) do!

“Still,” said Carl, “I have to think you have them for a reason.”

“You about to get all spiritual on me, big guy?”

“Sweet Christmas, no,” chuckled Carl, “but I wanted you to know that of all the people to get super strength, this world is really lucky it was a hero like you.”

“Stop it,” muttered Jessica, almost bashful.

“I’m serious!” insisted Carl, stepping closer, “You’re meant to do this. I can tell. You just need-”

“Hey, Carl!” shouted someone.

The two turned around. Willis Stryker was rushing up to them with a huge smile on his face.

“Willis,” greeted Carl, stepping back from Jessica a bit, “What’s up?”

“I gotta talk to you,” he said, before eyeing Jessica, “alone.”

“Willis, now isn’t-”

“It’s fine,” agreed Jessica.

“You sure?” asked Carl.

“Yeah,” nodded Jessica, “Yeah, I was about to head home anyway.”

“Alright,” smiled Carl, kissing her on the forehead, “See you around.”

Jessica smiled at Carl before walking down the block and around the corner. She noticed a series of trash cans next to the building that created something of an alcove against the wall. On a whim, Jessica ducked into it and listened closely. She didn’t trust Stryker, especially when he was keeping something from her.

“No,” she heard Carl say.

“Come on, man!” argued Stryker, “This could be a big break for me!”

“I know,” said Carl, “and there’s no coming back from it. I won’t be a part of it.”

“Come on!” insisted Stryker, “You owe me this!”

“I don’t owe you shit,” Jessica heard Carl say fiercely.

It was rare that Carl became upset or even raised his voice. When he did, it was almost always controlled and focused. Stryker and the Harlem Syndicate always got a rise out of him though.

“You wouldn’t have that shitty bar if it weren’t for me!” hissed Stryker.

“Yeah?” said Carl, “Well, if I’d known you were signing a deal with the devil, I would’ve turned it down.”

“You know that devil’s gonna be me someday!” said Stryker, “When it is, you’ll _really_ wish you had been a better friend.”

Jessica stayed hidden. She heard Stryker storm past her and down the street. Carl walked by a few seconds later. After a minute or so he looked over at the trash cans and spoke.

“You can come out now, Jessica,” he said.

Jessica slowly rose to her feet, slightly ashamed of herself. She felt guilty for both spying on Carl and for being sloppy enough to get caught. Now she looked like a rat _and_ an idiot.

“How much of that did you hear?” asked Carl.

“Most of it.”

“I don’t do that shit,” said Carl firmly, “I want you to know that.”

“What was he trying to get you to do?” she asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” said Carl, “It’ll never happen. Come on, let’s go back to my place.”

***

**Today…**

“I’m serious,” said Luke, noticing Jessica do a small squat in the elevator, “You can go home and change. We’re happy to wait.”

“I’m fine,” dismissed Jessica, trying to ignore the leggings and underwear crawling into her ass.

The elevator dinged and the door opened. Sitting in the waiting area across from them was a confident-looking tall woman in jeans, boots, and a blazer. She had thick, natural hair that fell on either side of her head. Jessica also made note of the fact that the woman’s right hand appeared to be made out of metal.

“Jessica,” said Luke as they exited the elevator, “This is Misty Knight. She’s our in-house investigator.”

“Really?” said Jessica as Misty stood and approached her.

 _An in house investigator?_ thought Jessica, _Then why the hell does he need me?_

“Nice to meet you,” said Misty, holding out her right hand.

Jessica shook Misty’s hand. The arm moved unusually. It was prosthetic in some way for sure, but she had enough control and fine motor skills to at least shake hands. The motion was slightly jerky though. Jessica imagined it was still nothing like having a fully functioning arm.

“Why don’t we go to the conference room?” suggested Luke, “Go over what we have so far.”

So they did. They gathered in the room, where Danny and Colleen were already waiting. Luke wheeled in a large whiteboard at the front of the room, where he stood with a dry erase marker and led the meeting.

“Alright,” he began, “Jessica, would you like to begin?”

“What?” asked Jessica, confused.

“Just go over what we’ve learned,” he said, tossing her the marker, “Tell us what you’re thinking.”

“Uh,” said Jessica as she approached the whiteboard, “Sure.”

She walked up to the board and looked at it for a moment. She considered and then wrote the words “Willis Stryker” in big letters. She turned back. Everyone was still looking at her. Then she wrote “Harlem Syndicate” as well. She wasn’t sure exactly where she was going with this.

“So,” she began nervously, “Willis Stryker was, or is, or kinda is, the leader of the Harlem Syndicate. The Heroes for Hire took them down last- You know that. You’re the Heroes for Hire.”

No response. She was hoping for at least a dry laugh or awkward acknowledgement.

“We’re, uh…” continued Jessica, “Looking for him. We haven’t found him yet.”

“What have you found?” asked Misty impatiently.

“His lawyer,” said Jessica, steadying her confidence, “is a man named Ben Donovan.”

“Yeah,” said Danny, “We know.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” said Colleen, “He’s been the Syndicate’s lawyer for years. Everyone knows that.”

 _Great,_ thought Jessica, _That’s all I’ve got._

“Um,” she stuttered, trying to make the most of the situation, “We know he’s his lawyer. He didn’t tell us where he is.”

“You spoke with him?” asked Misty intensely, “So he knows we’re looking into him?”

“Um,” said Jessica, “Yes.”

“Damnit,” cursed Misty, looking away in frustration.

“You okay, Jessica?” asked Colleen.

Jessica realized she had been squatting again, as well as subtly wiggling her butt to try to dewedge her undies. Apparently it wasn’t as subtle as she thought. Colleen was staring at her hips, having clearly noticed.

“I’m fine,” said Jessica nervously.

“Those leggings are way too small on you,” noted Colleen, “You should get some new ones.”

“They’re not mine,” said Jessica defensively.

“That explains it,” said Misty, looking her up and down, “because you look like you’re fighting one serious wedgie.”

“I’m fine,” insisted Jessica, turning red.

“I mean it,” continued Misty, “Those drawers must be ruthless.”

“Can we change the subject?” requested Jessica, her voice cracking slightly.

“You’re wearing Ronnie’s brand underwear, aren’t you?” asked Colleen.

“Maybe.”

“Thought so,” nodded Colleen, “You should switch to X-All. They have this grip on the leg holes that prevents-”

“Can we go back to talking about the case?” asked Jessica angrily.

Everyone went quiet for a moment. Then Danny spoke up.

“So what else did you learn?” asked Danny.

“...that’s it,” said Jessica after a second.

“So what’s our next move?” asked Luke.

“...I don’t know.”

“The Carbones,” said Misty.

Everyone turned to her.

“Stryker is going to need muscle if he wants to keep the business going,” she explained, “With most of the Syndicate behind bars, the Carbones are the only option in the neighborhood. He’ll have to work with them. They’ll know where he is.”

“Alright,” nodded Luke, “So that’s our next move.”

“You mean…?” smiled Colleen excitedly.

“Yes,” said Luke, “We’re going to pay Rosalie Carbone a little visit.”

***

**Several years ago…**

“You ever opened at a bar?” asked Carl.

“You mean been there when they opened for the night?” asked Jessica, “Probably.”

“Then you have an idea of what it’s like to work the bar for that,” said Carl, pulling out his keys as they got to his door, “Boring.”

Jessica snickered. Carl smiled back and unlocked the door. The two of them had been seeing each other for a few months now. At Jessica’s request, they hadn’t put a name to the relationship or made any decisions related to commitment. Jessica had found something of a home with Carl though. Since moving to New York, this was the first time she was regularly pursuing spending time with someone. It was nice.

“Oh my God,” gasped Carl quietly as he opened the door.

“What?” asked Jessica, unable to see over Carl’s shoulder.

“You have to go,” he said, “Now!”

“What is it!?” demanded Jessica.

“Jessica!” shouted Carl, grabbing both of her shoulders and pushing her away.

Jessica pushed back and threw his arms off of her, knocking him to the side as she forced her way past him and into the bar. Then it was her turn to gasp. Lying against the far wall was the corpse of a heavyset man in a cop uniform, bleeding out onto the floor from the bullet holes that riddled the front of his body.

“Carl!” she whispered shrilly.

“It was Willis,” he groaned quietly, getting up.

“How do you-?”

“He wanted my gun,” said Carl, “He stole it and used it; I’m sure of it. You have to go, Jessica. You can’t be connected to this.”

“Carl, you-”

“There’s no way out for me,” he said plainly, “Willis will make sure of that. Please, you have to go. I’ll reach out to you when I can. Go!”

Jessica could hear sirens in the distance now. She looked longingly at Carl, not knowing whether to do what he asked. He stared back at her. She could see in his eyes that he needed her to get away. So she did.

Jessica leapt up and onto a nearby building and ducked down as the police cars pulled up, sounding their sirens as stopped in front of Carl. Carl raised both hands in the air as the police rushed out and pointed their guns at him.

“On the ground!” one shouted.

Carl complied, kneeling as the officer began to cuff him. The other rushed into the bar and nodded to the other. They began reading Carl his rights as they led him into the police car and drove off with him. Jessica couldn’t believe it. It was over.

***

**Today…**

Luke, Jessica, Danny, Colleen, and Misty marched their way up to the gate of the property. Rosalie Carbone ran the gang out of her private home, a 3-story house just shy of a mansion in a huge, gated yard.

Misty had her sidearm holstered on her belt, but beyond that they had no guns. Jessica was sure that Danny, Luke, and herself would be fine with their powers. She did have some concern about Colleen though, who had only brought her sword.

“You know there’s a whole thing with bringing knives to gun fights, right?” asked Jessica.

“Guns are unreliable,” said Colleen, “They can’t be trusted.”

 _Great,_ thought Jessica, _She’s one of those._

Luke grabbed the gates and forced them open, causing an alarm to sound in the distance. He held them apart long enough for everyone to squeeze through. Then he went through himself and let go, causing the gates to slam back together. Jessica concluded that they were mechanical in some way, held shut by a machine that Luke had overpowered.

The five of them made their way across the courtyard and up to the building, where they were quickly met by a security team of mean in suits holding guns. None of them made a move. They had planned for this.

“One of you get Rosalie,” said Luke, “Tell her Luke Cage wants to talk.”

The security officers whispered to one another for a moment before one said something into a radio. A few seconds later he nodded and they lowered their weapons.

“Come with us,” said one of them.

They were walked into placial home, through a foyer complete with a chandelier. Then they journeyed up a winding staircase that led to a long hallway. They made their way down that hallway and finally into an office where a large woman in a black suit stood waiting for them.

“Mr. Cage,” she said coldly, “and friends. What’s the bulletproof man want with me?”

“Information,” said Luke, “Business must be nice for you since the Syndicate left town.”

“You want a cut, sweetheart?” asked Rosalie smugly, “That doesn’t sound very hero-like.”

“Where’s Stryker?” demanded Luke.

“Straight to the point,” mused Rosalie, “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t actually know.”

“You must know something,” said Danny.

“Wow, you brought your whole staff here, huh?” smiled Rosalie, “What is this, a team building exercise? And who’s the chick in the kitty hoodie?”

Jessica crossed her arms. She hoped she wasn’t blushing. Based on the look on Rosalie’s face though, she was. Maybe she _should_ have gone home to change. This was a particularly humiliating outfit to wear while confronting a mob boss.

“It’s in your best interest to tell us what you know,” said Luke plainly, “Stryker will turn on you the second he gets the chance.”

“Maybe,” said Rosalie, “So maybe it is in my best interest to tell you that he’s made his new base in The Bar With No Name.”

“The biker bar!?” asked Jessica in disbelief, “That can’t be right.”

Even Fisk hadn’t been able to get control of that place. It was a seedy bar to be sure, but the customers were aggressive, violent, and far too proud to allow anyone to control them or their place of recreation. What was more, it had become something of a hotspot for “unusual” weapon distribution and superpowered mercenaries.

“Believe it, Meow Mix,” said Rosalie, “but it’s going to be a bit before you get there.”

Everyone turned around as they heard footsteps and guns loading. Behind them were about a dozen men in suits holding automatic weapons pointed directly at them. Rosalie casually walked past Jessica and over to the armed men before strolling right past them.

“You have your backup, I have mine,” smiled Rosalie, leaning on one of the gunmen, “Nothing personal, sweeties, but I know you’ll be coming for me next. This is strictly business. Have fun!”

“Get down!” shouted Luke.

The others all ducked away to other ends of the room as machine gun fire peppered Luke’s chest, riddling his hoodie in bullet holes. He began walking against the gunfire as they continued to shoot and reload. 

“Who in the right man tries to shoot someone who’s bulletproof?” Jessica asked rhetorically.

“Someone with a backup plan” concluded Misty, drawing her weapon.

A single canister flew into the room over the gunmen’s heads, rolling right up under Luke’s feet. He went to move, but white gas sprayed out of it as he was forced to cover his face and back away quickly. Misty took aim. Jessica noticed that her prosthetic arm straightened completely when she did, making it a completely steady shot. She fired at the can, knocking it away from them and toward the gunmen, who all rushed away from it as it filled the halls outside. They began screaming.

“Nice shot!” exclaimed Colleen.

“Tear gas,” noted Luke, a hint of irritation in his voice as he wiped his eyes. He had only just barely avoided breathing in a full lungful of the stuff.

“Let’s go!” exclaimed Danny.

“What, through the gas?!” asked Jessica angrily.

Danny took a moment to focus, staring at his fist. It began to glow gold. He took another deep breath and delivered a full force punch to the wall behind them. The wall didn’t just break, it shattered. Jessica felt a thump in her chest when Danny’s fist impacted against the wall, as if a shockwave had gone out. Only the portion of wall directly in front of him flew apart at first, but soon cracks spread along the wall in all directions and soon it fell away and there was nothing but open air into the home’s backyard.

“Let’s go!” cried Danny, leaping out the opening he had made.

“He knows that’s two stories, right?” said Jessica.

“What?” smiled Misty, “You’re not scared, are you?”

Misty followed suit. Then Colleen did too. Luke nodded and Jessica followed him as they both leapt out the window and into the backyard. More security was coming for them every moment, so they rushed around to the front of the building to escape through the gate.

They could see the gate. It was in sight. Jessica bolted for it as fast as she could. She was the fastest, so it would be safest for everyone if she got there first and held it open for the others. Unfortunately, in her attempt to do this Jessica got her foot caught in a small hole in the lawn and fell onto her face. Everyone else made it to the gate, where Luke pried it open and the others went through. Jessica got back to her feet as the security made their way out of the building and took aim.

“Jessica!” yelled out Luke, strained.

“Go!” she shouted, getting to her feet, “I can jump it!”

Luke nodded and squeezed through, letting the gates slam behind him. Jessica took a running leap at the fence and did her best to clear it. She launched herself into the air and kicked both of her legs forward, barely clearing them over the top of the spokes of the gate. She smiled in satisfaction. At least she had done one cool thing today. Then she felt her butt make contact with the spokes as she went over them. Her eyes widened in terror as she felt one of the spokes poke its way through her leggings and underwear. The next thing she knew both were yanked upward by the force of her coming down from the jump, leaving her in a hanging wedgie.

“Guys!” she cried out over the gunfire, trying not to let her voice get too high pitched, “A little help?”

“Holy shit,” realized Misty, almost laughing, “Did you actually get your underwear caught?!”

“Guys, please!” cried out Jessica in embarrassment, “People with guns are coming, remember!?”

As if on cue, Jessica felt a powerful impact in the back of her rear end. The intense tightening followed by the warm trickling down her leg was all she needed to feel. A bullet had hit her right in the ass. Her body was in shock now, but that would hurt like a mother when it wore off.

“Colleen!” called Luke.

“On it!” she called back.

Colleen placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, which was still in its scabbard, and closed her eyes. After a moment of that she opened her eyes, drew her sword, and swung it in Jessica’s direction. Jessica was confused at first, but then she heard the sound of metal scraping and the next thing she knew the entire upper half of the gate fell forward. Colleen had cut the gate in half from almost 10 feet away without taking a step. Apparently the sword really was cursed.

Jessica landed face first on the ground, bringing the upper half of the gate down as it landed painfully on top of her, still hooked to her leggings and underwear. She groaned and tried to move, but her legs weren’t working quite right on account of the bullet in her butt. Misty rushed over and unhooked the waistbands from the spoke so that Luke could pull the whole thing off. Then he grabbed Jessica by the back of the hoodie and lifted her up and onto his shoulder in a fireman carry before they all ran off.

Jessica couldn’t remember the last time she had felt like this much of a loser.

***

**Several years ago...**

Jessica sat sadly in the chair as a buzzer sounded in the distance. She drummed her fingers on the metal table and looked up and through the glass wall. Carl walked over, dressed in his prison jumpsuit, and sat on the other side of the glass from her. They both picked up their receivers.

“You wanted to see me?” she asked.

Carl nodded.

“I took a plea deal,” he said, “25 years. Less with good behavior.”

“Shit,” said Jessica, trying not to get choked up, “Carl, that’s… Oh my God…”

“It’s okay, Jessica.”

“No,” she said, pounding the metal table so hard that others looked over, “It’s not! You didn’t do anything!”

“Doesn’t matter,” said Carl, “This is the best deal I can get.”

“Then go to trial!”

Carl shook his head.

“Jessica,” he sighed, “A cop was shot to death by my gun in my bar. How good did you think my odds were, exactly?”

“I don’t know,” she said, beginning to break, “but we have to do _something_!”

“No,” said Carl, “We don’t.”

“Yes we do!” insisted Jessica, “I’ll catch Stryker. I’ll prove it was him who-”

“Jessica, please…” said Carl, looking defeated, “Don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want you to move on.”

“What?”

“You have a chance to get away from this mess,” he explained, “You can live your own life. You can be a hero, or not. Keep on investigating if you want to. But don’t obsess over this. I’m finished. Just let me accept it.”

“Carl…” whispered Jessica, her voice breaking, “I…”

“Trust me,” he said, “You don’t want this. You’re not going to be able to see me. You’re not going to be able to spend time with me. You’re not going to be able to be with me. I don’t want to do that to you.”

“But-”

“No matter what we do, I’m going away,” said Carl firmly, “but it doesn’t have to ruin your life too. You’re not going to make me any happier by being miserable. Move on. Please.”

Jessica thought of how to respond. How could she tell him that she didn’t want to? That she wanted to wait for him? That she wanted to _save_ him? She looked into his eyes. This really seemed to be what he wanted. She had to convince him otherwise. She had to let him know how much he meant to her. She went to speak, but the words caught in her throat.

“I’m sorry, Jessica,” said Carl quietly, “but this is it. Goodbye.”

He hung up the receiver and walked away. Jessica watched him desperately, hoping that somehow he would turn around and this would all go away. She stared longer than she should have, clinging to that hope.

Then he was gone. Jessica silently hung up the receiver and walked away. She returned to her apartment, crying. She looked around. Carl had called her a hero, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. She couldn’t even save him. She grabbed a bottle of whiskey and drank.

She did move on in the end, knowing it was what Carl wanted. In time the pain and longing for him went away, but the guilt didn’t. From then on whenever Jessica tried to think of herself as a hero, all she could think about was how she had abandoned the first person to see her that way.

***

**Today…**

Luke had rushed Jessica back to his office, where they had made their way to a room in the back of the lobby. It looked like a small clinic, with an operating table and all sorts of medication and equipment around. Luke brought her in and laid her face down on the table. Then he turned to the others.

“Everyone go upstairs,” he ordered, “I’ll wait here for Claire.”

Jessica’s mind was foggy and she was having trouble focusing, but Luke had gotten Danny to call someone named Claire on their way back. Jessica was pretty sure it was for medical attention, which is why they had come here instead of a hospital.

“You okay?” asked Luke once the others had left.

“Well I just got an epic wedgie in front of half the Carbones and then my ex ran me across the neighborhood with a bullet in my ass,” grumbled Jessica, “but other than that I’m doing great.”

“Good old Jessica,” he sighed.

Jessica heard someone run through the lobby. She looked over as the door to the small clinic opened and a woman ran in, tossing a backpack aside. She was a serious looking woman in scrubs and without makeup. Jessica was stunned by how pretty she was.

“This her?” asked the woman.

“That’s her,” nodded Luke.

“I can answer for myself, you know,” said Jessica, trying to ignore her wound as it began to ache more and more.

“I’ll get to work,” said the woman, bustling about the room and getting supplies.

“Jessica, this is Claire Temple,” explained Luke, “She’s our medical expert and, when necessary, our field medic. Also we’re dating.”

“What!?” exclaimed Jessica.

 _Are you kidding me!?_ Jessica thought in agony, _He’s dating HER? She’s gorgeous!_

“I’m going to take off your pants,” said Claire plainly as she pulled on her gloves.

“Wait, is that-?” began Jessica.

Claire had already flipped up the back of Jessica’s hoodie and pulled her leggings and underwear away from her butt, leaving her bare ass exposed to both Claire and Luke. Jessica bit her lip to contain the overwhelming sense of humiliation.

“Good news,” said Claire in an almost bored tone, “No bullet in there. It’s just a graze. You’re a fast healer, right?”

“...yes,” said Jessica after a moment, hesitant to comply with this demeaning procedure.

“Great,” she said, “Then all I have to do is clean and bandage it. It shouldn’t take long.”

Jessica lay there indignantly, pants around her knees as her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend wiped down her buttcheek. Jessica couldn’t believe this was really happening.

“So…” said Claire as she worked, “You two used to date, huh?”

“Yup,” said Jessica quickly, not wanting to talk.

“How did you meet?”

“Luke’s old bar.”

“Wish I could have seen that place,” said Claire, “but I’m pretty sure I was in school at the time.”

“Claire’s a doctor,” explained Luke, “She graduated med school at the top of her class.”

“Good for her…” said Jessica quietly.

Luke’s new talented and brilliant girlfriend continued to clean out the wound in Jessica’s ass while Jessica laid there and pretended like this wasn’t the most degrading thing she had ever experienced. This might even give some of Peter’s embarrassments a run for their money.

“You know,” said Jessica, desperate to alleviate this humiliation, “I’m seeing someone too.”

“Really?” smiled Luke, “What are they like?”

“Well,” said Jessica, ignoring Claire’s hands repeatedly squeezing and pressing her butt, “her name is Bobbi.”

“Yeah?” said Claire, “What does she do?”

 _Shit,_ realized Jessica, _I can’t just go around telling people she’s a secret agent._

“Uh…” said Jessica, “I can’t tell you that.”

“Okay,” nodded Luke, “How did you two begin to date?”

_Fuck, can’t tell him that either._

“It’s, um…” she stammered, “a secret.”

“Right,” said Luke.

“She rides a motorcycle!” blurted out Jessica, not knowing what else to say, “and she’s a doctor too!”

“Alright,” said Luke.

“She’s real!!”

Both Luke and Claire chuckled at that. Jessica bit her lip so hard that she could feel it begin to bleed. Her face was hot from how red it had turned. She hated this.

“Done,” said Claire a few minutes later, “You should be good to go. At least with the bullet wound. There’s only so much I can do about your dignity.”

Jessica scowled over her shoulder. Claire smiled back at her. Jessica slowly got up from the table and steadied herself as she placed her feet on the ground and stood. The wound was already hurting less. She was starting to heal. She looked away in embarrassment as she hiked her underwear and leggings back up over her butt. She could have sworn she heard one of them snicker.

“Luke,” said Danny at the doorway.

They turned and looked, seeing Danny, Misty, and Colleen standing there.

“A contact of mine frequents The Bar with No Name,” said Misty, “I figured I’d check in with him. Guess who’s at the bar now?”

“Sweet Christmas,” whispered Luke, “We found him.”

“We have to go now,” continued Misty, “I don’t know how much longer he’ll be there.”

“You good to go?” Luke asked Jessica.

She nodded. They rushed out.

***

“We might only get one shot at this,” Misty reminded them, “Let’s make it count.”

Jessica was more than ready. She had a _lot_ of pent up frustration she wanted to take out on someone. Luke walked ahead of the rest of them, pushing open the door and walking into the bar. They followed him.

“Look who it is!” shouted one of the patrons, “Somebody hire a hero?”

There was laughter throughout the bar.

“Don’t they know who you are?” whispered Jessica, “What you can do?”

“Evidently not,” whispered Luke back.

The bar was filled with dozens of tough looking people. Most of them appeared to be bikers, sporting beards and leather jackets. A few others seemed a bit rougher, closer to mercenaries than common criminals. They were all looking at Luke and the others and none of them were happy.

“We’ve got this,” said Danny, stepping forward and standing next to Luke, “What do you say? _Drunken Master_?”

“I’m thinking _Drunken Master II_ ” said Luke.

“If you say so,” shrugged Danny.

“What the hell are they talking about?” whispered Jessica to Misty.

“You’ll see,” she smiled confidently.

The patrons began to work their way toward them. Luke and Danny stepped forward. Danny assumed a fighting stance. The patrons rushed the two of them as they leapt in opposite directions. The crowd of brawlers turned out and split in two, half chasing either hero. Danny and Luke both turned inward toward the crowd and began to walk toward each other.

Luke began smacking away opponents one by one, effortlessly pushing them aside as crowbars and knives broke against his skin. Danny was moving faster, but only because he was dodging as fast as he was striking. Both Luke and Danny were going about their strikes haphazardly, swinging wildly as they worked their way toward the center.

Finally, when they met each other in the middle of the crowd, Danny leapt into the air and turned his body horizontal. Luke reached his hands out, caught Danny, and hurled him straight up into the air. Danny let out a high-pitched battle cry as his body spun half a dozen times in the air before he came down with his glowing gold fist out. The fist slammed into the ground and released visible a shockwave of golden energy forward, blasting away the remaining criminals and leaving most of them out cold. Danny stood up straight and took a deep breath. The fight was over.

“What was that?” asked Jessica.

“They name all their tag team strategies after their favorite kung fu movies,” explained Misty.

 _That’s right,_ remembered Jessica, _Deep down, Luke’s actually kind of a dork._

“Where’s Stryker?” demanded Luke, picking up one of the defeated bikers.

“In the back,” he groaned weakly.

Luke dropped him and walked toward the door in the back of the room. The rest of them hurried and followed him to the door. The moment Luke opened the door, Stryker leapt out onto him. Luke let out a scream as Stryker plunged a knife into his shoulder. Blood stained Luke's hoodie as Stryker raised the knife up for another stab.

“Get off of him, asshole!”

Jessica threw the full force of one of her punches into Stryker’s side. The impact knocked Stryker completely across the bar, slamming him into the rack of drinks. The bottles wobbled and fell on top of him, smashing and spilling as they did. Jessica looked at Luke. He was clutching his bleeding shoulder. That wasn’t good. A knife shouldn’t have been able to hurt him. If Stryker had gotten another shot in with that knife, Luke might have died.

“How-?” began Danny.

“Get him!” cried Colleen, who saw Stryker bolting for the exit.

They all turned, but Misty already had her weapon drawn. She pointed it right at Stryker, yelling at him to freeze. Stryke drew a gun of his own and pointed it at the rest of them. Everyone stood tense for a moment.

“Don’t think I won’t shoot!” yelled Stryker, pointing his gun in the air, “I’m not messing around, Carl! You should have listened to me! The Syndicate would have had your back!”

Stryker fired a shot up over his head. He blew out a lightbulb with the shot, sending sparks everywhere. Everyone winced from the flashing as Stryker readied to shoot at them next. Then one of the sparks landed on Stryker’s shoulder. His suit, still soaked in alcohol, immediately went up in flames. Stryker was a screaming bonfire seconds later. Misty put him out of his misery with several bullets to his chest.

The fire slowly burned out. Stryker was dead. They all slowly approached his body.

“He has no one to blame but himself,” said Danny calmly.

“Vibranium knife,” noted Collen, picking it up from Stryker’s body.

“That stuff cuts right through me,” noted Luke, looking at his shoulder.

Then he looked at Jessica.

“Thanks, Jess,” he said, “You saved me.”

Jessica smiled.

***

“Still drink Dan’s?” asked Luke.

“I’ve gotten less picky,” said Jessica.

“ _Less_ picky?” smirked Luke, “Is that even possible?”

“Alright smartass,” grinned Jessica, “Dan’s it is.”

Luke poured two glasses of whiskey and walked over to the conference room table, sitting beside Jessica as he placed one glass in front of either of them. Jessica took a gulp out of hers and then looked at the others gathered in the kitchen, where everyone was laughing and having a good time.

“You’ve done really well for yourself,” said Jessica after a minute or so.

“Thanks,” nodded Luke, “You too.”

“HA!” laughed Jessica.

“I’m serious!”

“Which part?” she asked, “The failures as a detective or the propensity for ass-related injuries?”

“The part where you have a girlfriend and a… whatever the hell that skinny kid in your apartment is.”

“Peter,” nodded Jessica, “I actually think you two would get along.”

“Why’s that?”

“...similar interests,” said Jessica after carefully choosing the words.

“Right.”

“So you _do_ believe I have a girlfriend?” clarified Jessica.

“Of course I do,” chuckled Luke, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know,” sighed Jessica, “I just figured I seemed so pathetic that you’d never think I’d-”

“Stop,” said Luke.

Jessica nodded and stared at her drink for a moment.

“Why’d you reach out to me?” she asked, “After all these years, why now?”

“I needed your help.”

“You have Misty.”

“Misty’s a great detective,” nodded Luke, “but you’re the only one around who really knew me before I was Luke Cage. You had the insight we needed. Don’t sell yourself short; you give Misty a run for her money.”

“Why now?” asked Jessica, “Why not reach out all these years?”

“I thought you had moved on.”

“I did,” admitted Jessica, “and I feel awful about it.”

“Don’t,” said Luke, “You did what I asked you to do. I meant what I said. I’d be upset if you _had_ waited for me.”

“Well I do feel a little better after saving your life,” said Jessica with a half smile.

“You should,” said Luke, “especially now that Stryker’s dead.”

“About that,” said Jessica in concern, “how are you handling it?”

“I’m managing.”

“Is it going to be a legal problem? Technically Misty did-”

“We’ll be fine,” dismissed Luke, “We talked about it with Jeri. No one’s going to think twice about a crime lord who died in a seedy bar.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’ve learned to trust Jeri on these things.”

“She’s that good of a lawyer, huh?” mused Jessica, “I guess having the heir to Rand Enterprises on your staff has its advantages.”

“Danny isn’t the heir to Rand Enterprises.”

“Whatever; having somebody who has that kind of money-”

“Nope,” chuckled Luke, “When I met Danny, he had just been cut off from all that. He didn’t get a penny of Rand money.”

“So you paid for this place all yourself?” said Jessica, feeling insecure about her home office by comparison.

“It took some time.”

They both paused to take a drink. Then they sat in silence for a few minutes. It was nice. They didn’t need to say anything. It was nice just to be near each other again. Jessica had missed this. Then she decided to break the silence.

“So what now? Do we go back to not talking anymore?”

“I want to show you something,” said Luke, finishing his drink.

He got up and motioned for Jessica to follow him. He led her out of the conference room and down a line of offices.

“This office is mine,” he said as they passed the first one, “This is one is Danny’s. This is Colleen’s.”

“Okay…?” said Jessica in confusion.

“This office,” said Luke as they reached the end of the row of offices, “is yours.”

“...what?”

“I want to hire you, Jessica,” he said, “full time.”

“I… Luke,” she said, “I’m fine, I don’t need-”

“You don’t have to use the office,” continued Luke, “You can keep working out of your apartment if you like. But you have this space if you want it. You’ll also have access to our resources and list of clients. If someone calls in with a job that fits you, we let you know. We’ll take a percentage of the profit, of course, but only when your clients come through us. Any clients you handle on your own are still yours.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because you’re good at this, Jessica,” said Luke, “This is what I’ve wanted for you from the start, I just didn’t realize it. You inspired me to start this business. You were a hero long before I was. Now you can really make money doing it. I bet that you can do a lot of good with this. I think you want to, too.”

Jessica didn’t know what to say. She did have to admit she felt a certain sense of accomplishment and purpose when she saved people. The spandex-and-mask scene never really quite fit her, but Luke had a point. Being a private investigator had been a roundabout way of approaching that, especially after the guilt she felt for leaving Luke. The idea that she could do this and have a reliable client base and income….

“Luke…” she whispered, almost sobbing.

Luke raised his arms to offer a hug. Jessica nodded. He walked over and wrapped his large arms around her, bringing her in close to his chest and holding her tight. Jessica let out a shaky breath as she pressed her face into his chest. She missed this too.

“So what do you say?” asked Luke, “Wanna be a hero for hire?”

“Yes,” said Jessica wiping a tear away, “Yes, you giant dork. I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Not quite Jessica Jones whump, but in that territory


End file.
